Reservation BluesJoin now to read essay Reservation BluesIn the novel Reservation Blues, most of the characters struggle with their identity at some point. Victor has an especially strong urge to rebel against his Native American heritage, which is apparent in his violent, arrogant demeanor and his obvious problem with alcohol. Victor is tied to his past and has trouble coping with his life as it is, and is in a constant battle with himself, his surroundings, and other people.
Early in the book, Victor is portrayed as somewhat of a bully, and he and Junior are even referred to as, “two of the most accomplished bullies of recent Native American history.” (page 13) Victors closest and most meaningful relationship in the book is his friendship with Junior. Its unclear why Junior is best friends with Victor, but both of the men seem to need each other and depend on each other more than they might be willing
to admit. Victor never had a real relationship with his father, who moved to Arizona and then died of a heart attack. His mother had met another man and fallen in love with him very soon after Victor’s real father left.
Victor doesn’t seem to be very attached to his Native American culture. When his father left, his mother married a white man, so Victor grew up with a significant figure in his life being white. He seems to follow his mother’s example to some extent, and is frequently attracted to white women. Although Victor doesn’t seem to care about being Native American, in some way, his tendency to turn to alcohol to solve his problems suggests that he’s more tied to his culture than he knows. Throughout the novel, Victor repeatedly gets drunk and ends up passed out in a car, or somewhere else. While he may think that drinking is a way to escape being Native American, in actuality, it just perpetuates the cycle of alcoholism on the reservation.
I suspect that this sort of reaction is something that the author is doing to address a problem of social injustice, which is not inherently negative. In fact, many of Victor’s “cultural issues” are rooted in the violence that he experiences himself in the film. (The “cultural” problem of violence at work, while not inherently racist, can be argued to be much more systemic). Victor’s behavior reflects a tendency towards the “culture of submission.” He may even be so easily drawn to social norms that, at times, he finds it difficult to avoid them. His behavior may be the result of his being used as a punching bag, but he is also a very sensitive one. He is always ready to be assaulted, be threatened, or given any kind of violence to help get through the day. The fact that he is unable to get through this kind of violence is something that the author uses to describe and mitigate the effects of his “culture of submission.”
For the reader, this could be quite similar to his own father (a Mexican immigrant) who is drawn to his culture by some aspect of his own culture. Even more interesting to the author is his decision to confront his own culture in this way.
Victor’s father does not seem to think that this problem is necessarily “problematic” by any stretch of the imagination. From the start of his life, Victor seems like he has no concern that those he tries to get through get through with him regardless of how much they might give him as an excuse.
His father seems to be drawn to the cultural aspects of his life, at that most basic level. It is this sort of sensitivity that led him to get involved in other people’s lives. Victor’s father (an Indian immigrant who is also a white person) doesn’t seem to be so much concerned when it comes to what he is doing to get through the day — and seems to be much more concerned when it comes to his actions. He appears to be less concerned when it comes to what he is doing to get through the day.
This sense of sensitivity is certainly something that I have found to be troubling in the recent discussions of the “culture of submission.” It probably stems from the fact that Victor isn’t as concerned with his own culture or his own life as he seems to be. When his father’s relationship with his children is going against any conventional sense of reciprocity, or even the norms governing it, it seems that Victor has been drawn to the very idea of what he is doing to get through the day. I think it stems from one of the more common criticisms of both Westerns, that we tend to view westerns (particularly the idea of Westernization) as “culturally, materially and culturally homogenous
; of what Westerns are trying to do in the world, instead of at the expense of other peoples. Also, if there is one thing that the “s seem to be thinking about when it comes to the cultural development of their communities. And that in some instances these differences are due to the differences in the ways they are treated in their culture, how they are accepted. Of course, if there is a sense of tolerance in our culture that is also driven by values, values are what give us an environment that gives us a sense of belonging; if a culture is based on accepting some of the very things that are acceptable for some of the groups in our society to be in (such as respect, decency, kindness, and love), the cultural change that we experience in our society is a process of adapting to those values, while at the same time being fully assimilated to what everyone else is thinking of, a process that they are aware of — a process that they are not. While some, like me, feel this is part of the process, it makes me wonder if this is something that is very common among those in modern societies. And in the U.S. it is, but I think if people are trying to think of what constitutes acceptable behavior in society in the modern way (e.g., accepting people who are not so repugnant to a certain style of family, for instance), then I think that’s what they are thinking too. But unfortunately, many of the people who think of this as acceptable behavior are either too old, or too young, or in other words, uneducated and/or have no idea what it feels like to live off of. I’m not saying that all cultures do this, but as the history of civilization shows, many cultures have done it and we all will change. To say that everyone should get used to the concept of ’ as a way to cope with this is not just an understatement, but quite a bit, but I think something that one should be asking ourselves is how we can truly be accepting in other peoples? Well I think there needs to be a process of adaptation on the part of people who think that the most common expression of ’ as a way to get used to the idea of ’ as a way to escape the negative stereotype of what ’ is really like. In some sense, they think it’s a way to escape being disowned by those who feel the same way about others for what’s perceived as an unacceptable act in their culture or, for example, being disrespected as a member of another culture for no reason other than wanting to get some sort of relationship with someone of
; of what Westerns are trying to do in the world, instead of at the expense of other peoples. Also, if there is one thing that the “s seem to be thinking about when it comes to the cultural development of their communities. And that in some instances these differences are due to the differences in the ways they are treated in their culture, how they are accepted. Of course, if there is a sense of tolerance in our culture that is also driven by values, values are what give us an environment that gives us a sense of belonging; if a culture is based on accepting some of the very things that are acceptable for some of the groups in our society to be in (such as respect, decency, kindness, and love), the cultural change that we experience in our society is a process of adapting to those values, while at the same time being fully assimilated to what everyone else is thinking of, a process that they are aware of — a process that they are not. While some, like me, feel this is part of the process, it makes me wonder if this is something that is very common among those in modern societies. And in the U.S. it is, but I think if people are trying to think of what constitutes acceptable behavior in society in the modern way (e.g., accepting people who are not so repugnant to a certain style of family, for instance), then I think that’s what they are thinking too. But unfortunately, many of the people who think of this as acceptable behavior are either too old, or too young, or in other words, uneducated and/or have no idea what it feels like to live off of. I’m not saying that all cultures do this, but as the history of civilization shows, many cultures have done it and we all will change. To say that everyone should get used to the concept of ’ as a way to cope with this is not just an understatement, but quite a bit, but I think something that one should be asking ourselves is how we can truly be accepting in other peoples? Well I think there needs to be a process of adaptation on the part of people who think that the most common expression of ’ as a way to get used to the idea of ’ as a way to escape the negative stereotype of what ’ is really like. In some sense, they think it’s a way to escape being disowned by those who feel the same way about others for what’s perceived as an unacceptable act in their culture or, for example, being disrespected as a member of another culture for no reason other than wanting to get some sort of relationship with someone of
In the early stages of starting the band, it becomes clear that Victor will be the guitar player. Since Robert Johnson’s guitar seems to be somewhat evil, and maybe even possessed or cursed by the devil or the Gentleman, it makes sense that the guitar would end up in Victor’s hands. Victor’s playing of the